


I Love You, Clara Oswald

by audreyhepburns_eyebrows



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, whouffle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2017-12-28 06:26:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyhepburns_eyebrows/pseuds/audreyhepburns_eyebrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This has been turned into a place where I'll dump all my Whouffle one-shots and such.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Birthday's, Blanket Forts, and Unsaid 'I Love You's'

It was Clara's birthday. and the Doctor was excited to surprise her, he had managed to get help from Angie and Artie and for the past few hours while Clara was out Shopping with her friends, they had managed to bake a cake, Clara's favourite Oreo ice cream cake.  
  
Now, all he needed was to finish setting up the TARDIS living room.

And so he went to the pillow room, and the blanket room, and extracted as much pillows and blankets Artie and him could carry, and soon they had turned the room into one huge blanket fort.

The next thing involved some fairy lights. And finally getting them to set up the way he wanted, the room glowed with the different coloured lights.

Feeling proud with himself, he decided that there was only a few things missing. And so, with the buzz of his sonic screwdriver, the roof of their blanket fort glittered with stars and distant galaxies swirling away.  
It was almost time, soon Angie would be leading Clara into his TARDIS and he would surprise her, all he needed was Clara's favourite movie and the cake.

And so, he got the cake out of the kitchen and on his way to the fort, he grabbed her favourite movie - Waterloo Bridge.  
They had watched it on a rainy day when Clara was sick, and it soon became her favourite due to the fact that when she was better, he had taken her to meet miss Vivien Leigh herself.

He smiled to himself at the memory of Clara and Vivien giggling and gossiping about him.  
  
He had always been friends with the Oliviers, up until both of their deaths. And how Clara was chatting with Vivien as if they had known each other their whole lives, and how upset she was when they finally had to bid goodbye. He thought about visiting again in the future.

...

Clara knew that the Doctor was planning something. still, she pretended she didn't so he could have his fun.

She swore he was a 5 year old trapped in a 1200 year old aliens body, but that didn't stop her from being slightly excited about what he was planning, knowing the Doctor it was probably going to be amazing, like that one time he took her to the rose galaxy and they just sat over the TARDIS threshold looking at the beauty of it.

She was surprised that the old cow didn't just throw her off the edge, but after the incident at Trenzalore, the TARDIS had somewhat warmed up to her. And at least she didn't delete her room, or form a maze and get her lost on her way to the loo anymore. Still Clara didn't trust the machine.

She giggled to herself, because who would have thought that she would be traveling across the universe with a 1200 year old alien and his grumpy time machine, the whole thought of it was absolutely ridiculous!  
  
"Clara! are you coming! Steph and Lissy want to check to see if the new Legend of Zelda is out yet!" Her friend Hannah called her  
And so she popped back into reality and to her awaiting friends.  
  
Still...She wondered what was in store for her later.

Finally arriving home, Clara stepped out of her friends car and thanked them for a wonderful girls day out.  
She was on her way into the house when Angie stopped her from going in.

"your boyfriend is waiting in his time machine, he said he's waiting for you" She said in that ever present 'bored 14 year old' voice  
Sighing she took her bags and went around the corner to were the TARDIS was parked, the cow surprisingly let her in on the first try! what an achievement that was...

Setting her bags down near the main console, she picked up a note that was taped to the main screen. It was in the Doctor's handwriting

_'Dear Clara,_  
 _Turn on the screen, there is a video with instructions waiting to be played, see you soon,_  
 _Docktor"_

She laughed at the fact that he had spelt his own name wrong, how typical of him.  
  
Pressing the start button, a video popped up with him making a really extremely funny face in the camera, pressing play she awaited the 'instructions'

_"Clara! good job! you must have found the note I put on the console! good for you, unless you haven't and I'm just talking to myself, anyways...Happy birthday! Woah you're 25 now aren't you?! that's about the age Audrey Hepburn was when I first met her, she really was an extraordinary girl, oh and Marilyn Monroe also, did I ever tell you about that time I accidently-"_

She fast forwarded the tape a bit

_"-And that was how he accidentally married King Henry the 8th, bad decision in my opinion but to be honest-"_  
 _"Oh Clark and Carole called, they wanted to wish you a happy birthday, and that you should really buy post war bonds and how Carole is coming home"_

She continued to fast forward it, She loved the Doctor but sometimes it was painful to hear him ramble on about things including one of her friends death's.

_"Anyways, Oh jiminy cricket I spelt my name wrong, oh well what's done is done. okay so I am currently in the living room waiting for you, if you would be so kind as to join me"_

He put his to thumbs up and smiled. the tape ended.

Rolling her eyes she turned the screen off and headed for the living room

...

When she finally found the door, well...She only really was able to find the door because the Doctor was outside it waiting for her. That damn machine couldn't give her a break!

"Clara! you finally made it! how good of you, anyways..." He said, glancing at her, "Hmmm I think you need to put these on, if you want to be comfortable" he said handing her a stack of flannel "What about you?" She asked looking at that ridiculous bowtie "oh I've got these" he said holding up a pair of bowtie patterned pajamas

...

When she came back after changing, she saw that the Doctor had done the same and was smiling as if he was hiding something big.  
  
"so what's behind the door?" She asked trying to peek around his shoulder even though the door itself was closed  
  
"well, why don't you go see?" He opened the door

As Clara walked inside she was awestruck with what she saw, the room had been transformed into a huge blanket fort, coloured fairy lights were strewn all across the inside which was covered in an impossible amount of pillows and blankets.

she found that the makeshift roof glittered and sparkled with stars and far away galaxies that swirled and shone in all different colours, leaving small amounts of star dust on the blankets below.

She was on the brink of tears now, he had made this all for her.  
  
"Do you like it?" he said appearing behind her with a tray of cake and...was that hot chocolate?  
  
she nodded.  
  
"It's beautiful Doctor...I...I'm speechless"  
  
She plopped herself on the makeshift bed of blankets, still slightly in shock, he really did all of this for her, this wasn't some dream that she was going to wake up from.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, laying beside her and setting the tray of food down  
"I think..I think that it's beautiful, and that this is the best birthday I've ever had" she looked at him, smiling slightly  
"I've got another surprise for you"

"And what is that, Chin Boy?" She was honestly curious now, what could possibly be better than this  
"A movie, that's why I made the fort! now, you just stay here and help yourself to the cake, I made sure to follow the instructions, so it should be edible" he assured her, crawling towards the projector and inserting a worn film reel into it.

The opening credits for "Waterloo Bridge" began to play, and so Clara curled up against the Doctor, it was one of her favourite movies, but the ending when Roy is on the bridge always makes her cry.

She always saw a little bit of Myra in herself, and how they both died to protect the ones they loved. The difference between the two was the fact that Clara had come back, while Myra hadn't.

And how Myra had given up Roy forever, because the thought of him abandoning her because of her 'reputation' was to much to bear.  
  
She had decided that she would never ever give up on the Doctor, she loved him too much, and even though he didn't really see just how much she loved him, it was still enough for her, she hadn't really thought about the Doctor loving her, the Cyber Planner had told her that he loved her, but that wasn't the Doctor...was it?  
she huddled closer to him.

...

By the time the movie was done, the cake had been eaten and the hot chocolate drank, tears were streaming from Clara's eyes. Damn that ending.

Damn it to hell. Damn it for hiding all the masked undertones she had felt for the Doctor. Damn it for everything and every tragic romance movie out there that doesn't have a happy ending.

Because, there was no way that her story is going to end happy, and she knew that.

...

The Doctor saw that she was crying, it was the ending. He knew it. It was tragic, and admittedly he wanted to cry a bit too, but he would never...no.

She did seem a bit broken over it, so he did what he thought would be the only sensible option in this case scenario.  
He turned her chin so she was facing him, very gently wiping her tears away with his thumb, and he kissed her.


	2. The Dangers Of Craft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clara is sick, and all the Doctor can do is stand and watch as she fades away (slight graphic injuries and descriptions)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on the Confetti Poisoning AU in the Steam Powered Giraffe Universe

**Day 1.**

Clara wasn't feeling very well, perhaps it was something she had ate. The Doctor had insisted on scanning her to make sure that she was okay, and from the results she was fine...maybe a little warm and her pulse a bit to fast for his liking...but she seemed okay.

She felt a bit funny, as if some part of her mind was telling her 'be serious even though you aren't really' or 'try not to take your shirt off even though its really hot in here'  
It was strange to her. But she didn't feel that sick so she just brushed it off.

**Day 5**

Okay, so maybe she was wrong. She was feeling more sick everyday. She had no idea what was going on. The Doctor had been keeping a close watch on her, making sure she was okay. He noticed several different things about her, the way she walk...it was strained. And she had been complaining of severe back pain a few hours ago.

So bad was this back pain that he insisted that she get some rest. She was a bit pale as well.

He was getting worried about her. but when he scanned her for the third time, she was fine.

She had a bit of high blood pressure, but nothing too serious. Why was he worrying so much, she would be fine. She just needs a bit of rest.

**Day 10**

Maybe she wasn't fine. She had been sleeping quite a bit lately, and he was starting to properly worry.

"Clara, I need to know what's wrong with you, please just come with me to the sick bay"

"I'm fine Doctor, I'm just a bit worn out" Her voice cracked lowering half an octave.

"No you are not, now come with me, can you walk?" He asked her, she had tried to stand up, but fell over and cried out in pain  
"Guess not" Picking her up he carried her to the sick bay.

Setting her gingerly on a cot, he decided it was time to live up to his name. A few blood tests and a full body scan later, revealed that she just had a bit of the flu. But the symptoms weren't matching up, so he gave her some medicne that should help.

He was worried about her. He loved her and didn't want to see anything bad happen to her.

...

Clara groaned as he layed her on the bed, she was in pain, but she didn't want to bug the Doctor over it because she didn't want him to be too worried about her.

She gritted her teeth. Her back hurt so badly she wanted to cry.

With a new found strength she managed to stand up, and heading to the wall she slumped against it.

Finding that it actually helped a bit, she ground her back agains't the wall, the pain feeling strangely good for some reason.

She felt something cold on her back but she just brushed it off.

Finally too exhausted to releive her pain anymore she stumbled to her bed.

She didn't notice the scratch marks left in the wallpaper.

**Day 15**

She felt a bit better, after the whole back scratching incident. She found that if she did that once every few nights the pain would subside and she would feel somewhat like herself again.

It was in the early morning when she had her usual bathroom routine that she noticed the dark sploches underneith her eyes, it looked like they were from lack of sleep.  
Her skin was really itchy, so she decided that a shower would help.

Finally scrubbing herself down a bit, she got out and felt a lot better, maybe it was just the flu.

That thought blew out the window as soon as she looked in the mirror, a small glint of silver on her right shoulder was peeking thogh. as she examined it she discovered that it was cool and felt like metal.

She was feeling properly scared now, what was actually happening to her and why did she have a piece of metal in her shoulder.

...

When the Doctor examined it, he too was worried. He had no idea what it was, and so kissing her forehead he promised her that he would find a cure if it was the last thing he ever did.

He loved her too much, and he told her that. right before he said she should get some rest.

As soon as she stalked away to her room to sleep, the Doctor franticly ran to the Tardis library. There had to be some answers there.

**Day 20**

When Clara awoke it felt like her whole back was on fire. and it burned. And she swore that she heard a small 'click' when she scratched her back.

She examined it, and was shocked to find on her lower spine a small protrusion of metal as it clicked back into place.

She was sure she was dreaming it up. She had to be, this was all just a dream and she was going to wake up now.

She lyed back down on her bed, and fell asleep instantly, she was going to wake up and this would be all over.

...

He was franticly searching now, he was scared. He didn't want his Clara to get hurt and she was in pain.

He searched the library for everything he could. starting with the symptoms, and finally after a day of searching he found what he was looking for: A worn out book entitled "Secrets of the Craft Elements"

As he looked through this book, he found a whole bunch of different types of diseases...but the book was huge and would take him days to find the one effecting Clara.

**Day 25**

She woke up screaming, it hurt. It hurt so badly, she quickly ran to the washroom and threw up, finally finishing, she slumped down against the cool tile, wiping her mouth of what ever throw up didn't make the toilet, she dicovered that it was a black oily substance mixed with blood. Her head swam as she took this in, she was actually properly terrifed now, but she couldn't find her voice to call for him...

She had thrown up the bloody oil several times that day. It hurt so badly.

Finally being able to stand up, after spending at least 3 hours on the tiled floor, she looked in the mirror.  
She looked like hell, her eyes had devloped even darker circles then before, what shocked her most was her eyes.

They were different. One was a shocking blue colour that glowed slightly in the light.

"Doc-tor!" She finally managed to call, her voice sounded rough and scratchy. but it had done the trick, within several minutes he was there by her side.

"Clara! what happened!?" He asked looking at the mess, "Sick bay. now." was all he said before picking her up and carrying her away.

...

She was sleeping now, again. It worried him so much to see her in this state. He was reading the book when he found the section he was looking for. but it hardly seemed possible, because she had not come into contact with the craft element it was describing.

Confetti. 

It was ridcilous name, but it was volictate and known to be extrememly poisonous to humans.

He read on, shocked at the information layed before him, when he read the final words he threw the book across the room, it landed with a dull thud in the corner.  
There was no cure.

**Day 30**

She woke up in the middle of the night, screaming and crying about how it hurts. It was killing her, oil and blood seeped from her mouth and she twitched uncontrolablely. It felt like her organs were being ripped open. she was getting dizzy and weak from the pain, stars danced across her visions as she finally collapsed and fell off the cot.

The Doctor was, to put it mildly, startled. He quickly reached out and grabbed her before she landed on the ground. She had come to once again screaming bloody murder.   
With a scan he discovered that her stomache was gone. well, it was there, but it was...changing. as he looked at the screen he could see bits of metal seeping around and covering her insides, causing her extreme pain, but it was dangerous.

He needed to find a cure.

He had too or she would die. and he would not let that happen. Never. Not his Clara.

Her face contorted in pain, bits of flesh peeling away to reveal the silver and red benieth, blood and metal.  
She was crying oily tears and her eyes glowed with an unseen amount of pain.

"Doc-to r plea-se maake-it sttop" she managed to choke out.  
He was in the lab working, he had the sample of her blood, and upon further inspection he was that it was slightly shimmery with the confetti.

He had to find the cure.  
He had to save her.  
She was dying this minute.

**Day 31**

She was dying. She could feel it, even though she was trying to hold back the pain, her pained screaches echoed throughout the Tardis, which felt sorry for her and hummed as if apoligising about how it treated her.

She couldn't hold it any longer, and screaming as it happened, her spines extended ripping into the mattress and trapping her to the bed.

She could feel the springs of the cot digging into her spines and it hurt. Not as much as her stomach but it was still hurt, and she couldn't even do anything to make it better, She had been crying, and she was so thirsty. She needed water and a hug.

...

He had been doing what he could. He almost had it, he was working with all his might, trying things like stardust and alien chemicals. He almost had it.  
He would save her.

Then, he heard her screaming again, he couldn't bear to see her in pain. It pained him.  
He needed to check on her. Make sure she was still alive and breathing and real.  
Walking into the sick bay he was shocked when he had seen her.

Her face was a mix of metal, flesh and blood. oil dripped from her mouth and blood seeped from her torn cheeks  
her lips were black with the oil and her eyes were glowing bright blue.

She was in pure agony. and it horrifed him.

What horrified him more was the fact that she appeared to be stuck to the bed. Her back protruding metal smoke stack like objects.  
He needed to test his cure. But he was scared to test it on her...What if it didn't work.

He needed more time. 

Teary eyed and tired, he stroked her hair.

"I Promise, I will find the cure, and once I do, you are never leaving me again. Promise?"

She nodded with what strength she had left. She was so tired, and watched him stager back through the door that led to the lab.  
She closed her eyes and focused on something that wasn't the agonising pain.

**Day 32**

He woke with a start, surprised to find it relatively quiet. That wasn't good.

Or maybe it was. Maybe it was all just a dream and he had woken up from that terrible nightmare. a gurgling noise drew his attention from his mind.  
Rushing to the sick bay he saw her, she looked so sick, her face an angry red, covered in blood and oil and metal peeking through every so often.  
She looked at him, eyes dim. and let out a strangled groan.

He didn't like that. It meant something really really not good. Checking the scanner, he stared in horror at what he saw. Her lungs were almost consumed by the metal coating, she was going to die.

The only thing left untouched was her heart, it had the least amount of metal patina. She was going to die today. wheather the cure worked or not.  
"Doc-tor" She whispered. her voice strangled and tinny. "i-i-i'm sor-ry" she sounded so...robotic. It killed him to see her go like this, in utter agony from something so unlikely. He didn't even know how she even got the damn conffeti in her in the first place!

She was gurgling again, her eyes glowing dimmer in the artifical light of the sick bay. "r-run. yoou cle-ver boooy. an an and ru ruhmembr me" she whispered. oil leaking down her mouth.

Her eyes dimmed and she was gone. there was nothing to be done. Her body was mangled beyond what even imagined, the spines still lodged into the cot, flesh torn and bleeding. oil seeping from an impossible amount of places. She looked nothing like herself.

He couldn't even stand to look at her anymore, she was an empty shell of what she once was. All the beauty of her eroded away until nothing remained execpt her soul. She was free now, no more pain or angiush.

Tears slid down his face as he left.

He would make sure she was buried properly. that was for certian.  
She deserved it. She deserved to live.

But, like many of her failed soufflés, she was too beautiful inside and outside to live.  
He collapsed in a fit of sobs. Screaming about how she desrved to live more than he did.

A tiny shadow lurked behind him, trying to comfort the broken man. She would always be there.


End file.
